Uganda's Minister of State for Finance, Planning and Economic Development Amos Lugoloobi has called on local governments to improve revenue collection during their current five-year term, which runs until a target year set by the Fourth National Development Plan. Speaking at the first Local Government Own Source Revenue Conference 2026 in Kampala, Lugoloobi said local leaders and parliament would be judged together on their performance.
According to figures presented at the conference, local governments collected Shs442.64 billion in own-source revenue in the last financial year. This represented about five per cent of their total spending and just 0.18 per cent of Uganda's gross domestic product, compared with an East African average of approximately 1.27 per cent.
Local Government Finance Commission chairperson Isaac Musumba said local revenue had more than doubled over the past three years through automation and other measures. Property rates performed at 171 per cent of their projected target last financial year, making them the largest revenue source. However, 83 of the country's 176 local governments collected no property rates at all. The commission estimates local governments could collect as much as Shs1 trillion annually if revenue opportunities were fully exploited, but current collections stand at about 44 per cent of that target.
Lugoloobi highlighted the Integrated Revenue Administration System, which has been rolled out across all 176 local governments and registered more than 3.1 million taxpayers. He criticised political interference in revenue enforcement and urged elected leaders to allow revenue officers to perform their duties. The Fourth National Development Plan targets Shs805 billion in annual local government own-source revenue by the 2029/30 financial year, requiring sustained annual growth of approximately 16 per cent.